In his book A Guide to Christian Meditation, Fr. John Bartunek (click here for my summary of that book) answers an important question that many of us wonder about…
- “How do I know if I’m praying well?”
Fr. Bartunek says that since your relationship with Christ is a deep friendship built on faith and love, the success of your prayer life goes far beyond your current feelings and emotional states.
- “The fruit of a healthy prayer life takes time to grow and mature. Ultimately, it shows itself by growth in virtue, as you become more like Christ” (54).
Some indicators my meditation went POORLY:
- Gave into distractions.
- Let myself fall asleep.
- Did not prepare well to enter into prayer: Skipped over the Concentrate step or did it sloppily.
- Spent the whole time reading, thinking, daydreaming, or focusing on feelings instead of conversing heart-to-heart with Christ.
- Did not commit to anything at the end of my meditation.
- Shortened the time I had set for meditation for no good reason.
Some indicators my meditation went WELL:
- Fulfilled the time commitment I had set.
- Faithfully followed the four-step method despite tiredness, distractions, dryness, or any other difficulty.
- Stayed with the points of consideration that struck me for as long as I found good material there to reflect and converse.
- Tried my best to speak with Christ heart-to-heart.
- Tried my best to listen to God. Finished with a strong commit.
- Since meditation is a rich source of spiritual nutrients that cause the Christian virtues to grow in our lives, let us commit ourselves to meditate daily… and try our best to do it well!
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